Impact

Together with the other indicators under SDG 14, it will form a picture of marine activity giving countries intelligence on optimum levels of fishing, aquaculture expansion and fair and secure access to living aquatic resources.

Key results

Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP continues to decline despite the call for increasing the economic benefits from the sustainable use of marine resources.

Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP experienced a marginal decrease in 2021, from 0.096 percent to 0.094 percent. This trend can be attributed, in part, to the relative decline in the importance of fisheries associated with the economic expansion of other sectors, and the declining levels of sustainability in several fishing areas.

Although there has been a modest decrease on a global scale, several countries that heavily depend on fisheries for their livelihoods and food security have experienced positive developments. Aquatic food systems remain critical for the economic stability and food security of millions of people around the globe, with the majority of the approximately 58.5 million people employed in the primary sector of fisheries and aquaculture residing in developing countries. There was positive growth in sub-Saharan Africa, with the sector’s GDP share climbing to 0.42 percent in 2019. Similarly, aggregate values for SIDS showed promising growth, from 0.46 percent of GDP in 2019 to 0.51 percent in 2021. Pacific SIDS, which rank among the countries most dependent on fisheries globally, witnessed the proportion of their GDP linked to sustainable fisheries increase, from 1.54 percent in 2019 to 1.63 percent in 2021. This growth underscores the sector’s potential as a driver of economic development, even as it faces diminishing returns in other regions of the world.

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Methodology

Tier: I

Data

Related publications

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